Burner for natural gas.



2. H. BROWN.

BURNER FOR NATURAL GAS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.24.191I.

Patented. J an. 15; 1918.

awe/M1040 ZEN'RE; H. BROWN eately-and ii whichdown to I V p 'blowing "eat, or in which; "the-flame "can he emanates NATUEALGHS.

theater,

7 erman of t-tters i atent.

Patented rail, is, rare.

npplieation fil'efl February 24, 1917. Serial No. 150,799.

ToaZZwhom it may concern? Be it known that I, *ZENAS H. BROWN, a citizen of the United States, residingat Cleveland, in the'countyof Guyahoga and State of Ohio, have inventedjicertain new and useful Improvements iin -Burne'rs for Natural Gas, of which the following is a specification, reference being I had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to, gas burners and particularly to gas burners designed =-for heating. i 1

One of the objects of myin'vention isto produce a flame or a heating .ipurp'ojses which will be, to a certain extent, dike the green flame produced by a Bunsen burner, but without the attending blue flame and in which the green heating =fiame may be distributed over 'a 1'elatively large surface so as todistributethe heat.

'By long and careful experiment, and after the trying out ofenany forms-of burners designed to achieve the apu'rpose 'above related, I have devisedthe construction which is illustrated in the drawings hereto. By my first experiments, I produced the green flame of theBunsen burner, but this green flame, when :prodticed, was as incapable of proper control as in the Bunsen bnrneritself and would blowodt when supplied with too much air "or: too muchqgas.

Eventually I'lpro'duced a burner that would pose for which it "was inten'ded.

"In the course of niy experiments, *1 discovered that too great or 'eXcessiveplressu-re was what :eaused the fBiinsen flame lt'o blow *out and "I discovered that-only'by the proper equalization of pressurein the burnerfwould the green "flame be controlled jflIlCl "utilized for the purpose =intended. :After fu'rther experiments I produced-the turner which forms the subject matterfofithis app'licatio'n and in this barrier the "flame isabbut (the same shape as that fgiven ofi by 'the' lloc'hester? lamps and is as easily controlled. By

"my invention lihaveiprwided a burner of this c haracter in which thei flame can {be raised and lowered ver-y easijl f'e time -f an inch, *with *burner, designated 13. ii'iately cup shaped,that1s, ltdlflSiiTl annuraised {to a height of two inches and still retain its intense green color and its very great "heating properties. Furthermore, by

the inechanism Which-I will now describe, "l have iprovldedfa burner in which the flame 1S entirely silent and 1S absolutely odorless and one-in which-a minimum otlgas is consinned"withai nairimum amount of heat, and furthermore I have provided a burner wherein natural -gasniay be used, the burner being particularly designed fora-the burning of natural Viththe above named objects in view,-I have *constructedthe burner which isi-l-lustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherelnz Figure l isa vertical sectional view through a burner .constructedin accordance with-my invention; y

r Fig. 2 isa section on the lineEZ-EZ of -Fig..3;is a vertical sectional 'viewof the valve controlling the discharge ofigas;

l igg lisa faceview thereof; F19; 5 IS a fragmentary sectional view of the burner,w1th theang-le of wall l3exag- 1 g'erated.

These figures are approximately threefquartersof full size. l H

-Referring to these drawings, it will be "seenthat 'theburner comprises -an-air and as intake tube desi-gnated m, which, as

illustrated is horizontal -and--may be supported in any suitable manner and *Which is provided at one end with the upwardly turned pipe "section 1-1, The interior dinineter 'of the pipesection 11 and of the tubeor pipe 10 is approximately the same for the entire length of the intake tube and 'fpipe section.

-Supportd upon the'pipesection 10, in an'y suitable manner, as for instanceb'y the a collar 12, is the outercasing-orrjacket-of the This is approxilar bottom through the centerof which the pipe 11 extendsand has an annular side wall whicli="extends upwardly and slightly otitward -and at its upper end is outwardly extends upward nearly to f'tli'e upper iendr 'o'f 15, whose diaiii-eter 'is 11- i is pla-te or 'disk adjacent the lower end of the wall. Prefer-1 ably this wall tapers downward from the plate 15 for the purpose which will be later stated. 7

It will be seen now that surroundlng the upper portion of the pipe 11 is a chamber '19 which ex ands in area downwardl and that surrounding the wall 16 is a chamber 20, whose cross sectional area expands upward very slightly and that this chamber suddenly expands at its upper end into the space 21 and that leading from this space 21 is an annular opening 22, from which the gas flame issues between the upper edge of the casing 14 and the perimeter of the plate 15'. The plate 15 may be centered by any suitable means, as for instance, by the set screws 23 and the plate may also be vertically' adjusted by theseset screws, if desirable. These set screws are preferably provided with lock nuts 2%, whereby the set screws are held locked and the parts held from any accidental displacement.

The outer end of the tube 10 or intake pipe is formed with an annular flange 25 forming an intake mouth and opening to the outer air. Preferably also, the tube 10, adjacent its intake mouth, is provided with a plurality of air inlet openings 26 disposed at uniform intervals.

Mounted in any suitable manner opposite the mouth of the intake pipe 10, is a valve fitting orcasing'27, which is connected in any suitable manner to a gas pipe 28 leading from a source of supply. In the fitting 27 there is provided an ordinary valve 29, which, when closed, entirely cuts off the su ply of gas passing through the fitting 2 7.

'The end of the fitting 27 is directed toward the axial center of the intake pipe 10 and is provided with a peculiar form of valve, which is of great importance in my device. This valve'is illustrated in detail in Fig. 3. The extremity of the fitting 27 is formed withan exteriorly screw threaded nipple 30 and mounted upon the end of this nipple is a conical pin 31. The end of the nipple at intervals around the conical pin is formed withoutward openings 32. Mounted on the screw threaded nipple is a sleeve 33 having a concave convex cap 34 formed with a central aperture 35, this aperture being slightly larger than the base of the conical pin 31, so that even when this cap is adjusted so that the wall of the aperture 35 surroundsxthe base of the conical pin 31, a slight annular space will be left between the wall of the aperture 35 and the conical pin 31. The sleeve 33 and the cap 34 may be shifted outward on the nipple, so as to thereby shift the cap longitudinally of the conical pin 31 and -st o p pin 38 which permits, ordinarily, nearly oneentire revolution-to be made by the sleeve 33, the disk 36 and the handle 37. When the handle 37 is turned in one direction and is stopped by the pin, the gas is almost entirely shut off. \Vhen it is'turned in the other direction, however, and stopped by the pin, a

maximum amount ofgas for ordinary pur- -posesis permitted to be-ejected from the openings 32'a11'd the opening 35. By removing the stop 'pinand rotating the valve in one direction or the: other, however, a* larger or smaller amount of gas may be provided turned in the opposite direction and engaged with thestop screw 38, then the burner will consume up to about 15 cubic feet of gas per hour, which is the point of its greatest efficiency. It Will-be obvious, however,'that the burner may be adjusted at any place between the two points to suit the ends of the opera tor. It will be likewise seen that there is a relatively very great amount of air consumed in comparisonwith the gas consumed and it is for this reason that I secure the green flame, which is so particularly desir able. i 7

- I have illustrated my device as being used in connectionwith'a furnacehaving a crown plate 39 against which the fiame'from the burner is directed and have also shown a .furnace having an outside jacket 40 and an inside jacket 11 defining ahot airspace bej tween them with which the'openin gs 23 com jets of air, as they may be termed,'will enter the intake pipeat right angles to the main body of air entering the intake pipe and that thus a much better mixture will be produced than would otherwise be the case. Preferably there are only three of these openings -26, one at the bottom of the tube 10 and two on the sides. V

One of the very important features of this burner resides inthe particular construction of the. casing 13 and the form of the'chainbersql9, 20 and 21. The object of the form and arrangement of the chambers 19, 20 and 21 is toregulate or control the pressure and 'to allow' the gas'miX-ture tohave-proper expansion, The chamber 19, as before stated,

expands in'cro'sssectionalaroa downward so that the mixed air and gas expands it moves downward through this chamber and thus-the gas does not rush into the next chamber Qd'with too great a velocity. The chamber .20 has a nearly'uuiform area from its lower end nearly to its upper end and then "expands suddenly into the space 21 and thus the fuel allowedu sudden and final expansion before arriving at the point of'comhustion. The plate '15 is formed. so as to haveexactly the same diameter as the outside diameter of the casing l l and the interior face of the outer "wall of the chamber 21 shouldebeunachined out very carefully, as any unevenness onthe inner face of the outer wall of "the space2l' and. unevenness of the walls of the chambers 19 and 20 is .liableto cause the flame to burn unevenly.

The flame produced at the opening 22 is about the samein shape as"the-flame on'the "Rochester lamp burner and it can be raised or'lowe'red by adjustment of the handle 37 of the valve. :As it takesthe proper amount ofair at the intake pipe 'inlet, there need be no adjustment of the air, and the flame at the opening 22 may be tUI'HGClClOWIl to a height of 50f an inch with no danger-of blowing'out, or the flame may be raised to a height'of nearlytwo inches'and'still retain its intense green color and its intense heating power. Theflame, while"beingperfectly silent, isabsolutely odorless and the products of combustion fromthisflame may he "even carried directly into the living rooms of'thehouse, with-no deleterious effect. "Each burner "of the character de scribed, at its 'maximum flalne height for the size illustrated "Will consumeonly feet ofzgas per hour: and with proper radiation 5 of these burners will be sufficient to heat an'ordinary. sized-8 room house, in the cold est weather. This-hasbeen'demonstrated by actual Rtests and. experiments. One burner alcapacity foreheating a room feet square in cold winter Weather with a "mini -'murn 'lconsumption "of:-gas and it will "he obi' vidusth'atfthi's is-aigreat saving of gas compared with theramountoflgas consumed in. ordinary heating burners.

Itds tohe noted that if thefgas valve were allowed to be 'fullyropen, which is impossible with the construction which I have devised, "thenthe air supply would notbe adequate *toi produceaigrecn flame and the burner, instead of being-absolutely odorless, as it-now is would not only produce fumes, which would berdeleterious to-health, but the eflilciencyiin heat units would be decreased with a :larger consumption of gas. The crown plate 39, in whatever form it may take, plays Fan important part, as it acts {as a spreader forflthe..=flaine and "when properly -installed beneath the crown plate, or equivalent -deviceythefiaine Will burn as steadily and quietly as the flame L on an ordinary 'lamp.

"Attention is again called tothe fact that thechamber 19' expandsin cross sectional. area downward, while the chamber 20 9X- pan'ds in'cross sectional area upward. The increasingofthe cross sectional area downward in chamber 19 would be oflittle or no use, unless the chamber 20 was also increased "into the opening 22 Withsuch great force astocause the flametohe hfted from the burner.

While I have illustrated the particular formof valve which is importantin that it insures perfect results and preventsa person accidei'itally turning out the gas or turn Tin-g up the gas too high in proportion to the amount of: air' to'be used, yet I'do not wish to beliinited to this formof valve as other forms might be used having the same general effect. Neither do I wish to be limited tothe detailsofconstruction which Ihave illustrated, as these details might be modified, inmany ways, without departing from the spirit of the invention-and it will also beobvious that the relative size of the de vice mi'ght be changed depending upon the Work to be done andthe heat to be secured, but l ha've found the proportionsillustrated "should be kept to quite closely. If the {humor was madelmuch larger in proportiom the normal gaspressure would notbe enough to operate itproperly,as tlie'gas would not carry enough air intothe burner to produ'ce the full green fiameonthe upper portion of tl'ie-ifi'ame, that-is; about one-lralf of it would be blue. p

If "the burner were "made 11inch smaller than'the proportionsshown,there would not be enough space within'the chambers toretain enough of the gaseous mixture to be heated before arriving at the point of combustion and further inv order to secure a proper operation ofthe burner, there should he suflicientffoi'ce in the gas issuing from the nozzle to produce a jetand if the flow of gas is-cutdo'wn to almost nothing, it will-not draw enough air into the pipe l0, eve a. though the pipe size in proportion to the jet. 1t requires quite a little force of gas entering the pip 10 to produce the green flame.

The use of the chamber 19 doesno't inake so much difiercnce, as this chamber iiracti 10 0c made ofa smaller ill) llti

cally forms merely a containerto hold the gaseous mixture while it is being heated by contact with theside walls of the chamber.

It 1s however .necessar in order to secure a a .l

the best results and to act as a mixing chamber for the air and gas.

A green flame would be produced even if only the air intake pipe were used, together with a needle valve, and if the casing 13 and casing 16 and plate wereremoved, but, on account of the excessiveamount of air, the flame would immediately blow out and if the air supply were cut down sufficiently to hold the flame on the top of the burner, the flame would have theform of two cones, a green flame cone and a blue flame cone. Furthermore, the flame would sputter and roar and unburnt gas would be thrown from the flame. Ifthe air supply 7 were cut down still further, a blue flame would be formed which, while it would not make any noise to speak of, would give only a relatively small heat. I do not. wish to be limited to the particular form of needle valve which I have illustrated, as other forms of controlling valve might be used, but the valve is designed as a protection against the accidental turning off of the gas, as the'valve is not quite closed when turned to its lowest point and without thestop 38 pproximately 3; or 1 from the mouth of the air intake pipe asthereby the correel." amount of air is furnished to the pipe 10. T he nozzle could be projected into the pipe 10,but the result would not be as good. A spider, connecting the nozzle or the needle valve and the open end of the intake pipe,

might be used if the spider were so constructed as to cause no interference with the air.

I have illustrated an annular slit 22 as the exit opening by which the mixed air and gas issues from the casing 13. I do not wish to be limited to the exact form of this exit opening, but have found it to be eX- tremely efficient in practice. A series of small holes might be used in place of the slit 22 but while this would make no difference with the production of the green flame, yet the flame would jump from the burner as the blank space between the perforations would create a pressure at the outlet perforations and. this would destroy the equalizing action of the chambers 19-and 20 unless the holes were made large enough so that they would furnish no greater resistance than the annular passage.

It will be noted from Fig. 1 that the outward divergence of the wall 13 with relation to the partition wall 16 is very slight but without this slight increase, I have found by actual tests that the fuel will be delivered too" forcibly to the flame even though the fuel be delivered into thechamber 21. I find, however, that this slight increase is absolutely, necessary in order to make the flame burn properly and to maintain a perfect balance in the burner. The fact that this chamber 21 holds a relatively large amount of fuel in readiness at the point of combustion, would seem to steady the flame and 'seemsto furnish a more even supply of fuel than it would without it. The chamber 19 does not have expansion of the fuel but it is necessary to serve as a container whereby a sutlicient.

quantity of the fuel may be properly heated before it is delivered to the flame. Of course, the heating process begins to take place as soon as the fuel enters that portion of the pipe 11 disposed within the burner and continues all the way through the burner and the contents of chamber 20 and its enlargement 21 will naturally be hotter than the contents of chamber 19. The perimeter of the plate 15 and the deflected portion la'are the hottest points on the burner. The partitionlfi is, of course, necessary, as, ifit were. not there, there would be no gradual releaseof the fueland the pipe would deliver immediately into the upper end of chamber 20 andrthe entire effect of the burner would be spoiled. 9

Having described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a burner of the character described,

a relatively large air intake pipe, means for.

discharging air and .gas into the inlet end of the pipe, a casing surroundingthe outlet end of the pipe and having a top disposedin slightly spaced relation to vthe extremity of the intake pipe, the outer wall of said casing at its end adjacent said top being formed with a sudden annular enlargement, and the endof said enlarged portion of the wall being spaced'from the top to form an annular opening through which the ignited gas may issue, the top having a diameter the same as the outer diameter of the casing andhaving an annular partition surrounding the intake pipe, but spaced therefrom and from the exterior wall and having openings between the partition and the bottom of the casing for the passage of gas.

2. In a burner of the character described, a relatively large air intake pipe,fmeans for discharging air and gas into the inlet end of the pipe, a casing surrounding the outlet end of the pipe and having a top disposed in slightly spaced relation to the extremity of the intake pipe, the outer wall of said casing at its end adjacent said top being formed with a sudden annular enlargement and the end of said enlarged portion of the wall being spaced from the top to form an annular opening through which the ignited gas may issue, the top having an annular partition surrounding the intake pipe but spaced therefrom and from the exterior wall and having openings between the partition and the bottom of the casing for the passage of gas, said partition defining a chamber between the intake pipe and the partition, which chamber expands cross sectionally from the top of the casing toward the bottom of the casing, ing between it and the surrounding wall an annular passage having an upwardly increasing diameter and opening into said first named enlargement of the casing.

3. In a burner of the character described, a relatively large intake pipe, means for directing air and a jet of gas into the inlet end of the pipe, an annular casing surrounding the outlet end of the intake pipe, said annular casing having a diameter about twice the diameter of the inlet pipe and a depth approximately the same as its diameter; and having a bottom and an outer wall, the outer wall at its upper end being laterally offset to thereby form an annular enlargement, a top having a diameter equal to the exterior diameter of the outer wall said partition definat its upper end and having an annular partition depending from the top and a seating on the bottom of the casing, the top being spaced from the edge of the wall of the casing to form an annular flame opening, and means for centering the top and annular wall.

at. A burner of the character described including a relatively large inlet pipe having a practically uniform diameter from end to end, acasing surrounding one end of the pipe, the opposite end of the pipe being entirely open for the inlet of air and being provided adjacent this open extremity with orifices in its wall through which additional air may pass, a gas discharge nozzle spaced from the open end of the pipe but directed toward said open end, means for controlling the amount of gas issuing through said nozzle, said casing having a diameter approximately twice that of the pipe, and having an upwardly and outwardly inclined wall, the wall at its upper end being outwardly extended and then upwardly extended to form an annular enlargement, a top plate disposed in slightly spaced relation from the upper end of the casing and having a diameter equal to the diameter of the casing at its upper end, said. top plate carry ing a battle wall extending downward nearly to the bottom of the casing.

In testimony whereof I hereunto atlix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ZENAS H. BROT'VN. Witnesses A. F. CARTWRIGHT, J. A. SMITH.

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